


of glitter and pearls

by thereisnobearonthisisland



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Homophobia, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, petty phil lester, this is literally just fluff and and a petty phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 02:56:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14511006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereisnobearonthisisland/pseuds/thereisnobearonthisisland
Summary: Dan and Phil meet Louise at a restaurant to finally meet Baby Pearl.





	of glitter and pearls

They’re late, but that’s not really anything new.  They hadn’t _meant_ to be running out the hotel door ten minutes after the time they’d arranged to meet with Louise, but sometimes life does you dirty.  Or tours do.  Take your pick.  Phil can feel his heart thrumming in his ears as he takes the stairs two at a time to reach the bottom floor.  Dan’s right behind him, and they sprint through the door like it’s a finish line.

 

Their Uber driver is already there waiting for them, his arrival text being the fucking gunshot that had made them start running in the first place.  They’d hopped off the couch in panic when Phil’s phone had chimed, stuffed their feet into shoes and taken off.  Phil’s pretty sure that neither of them even paused the latest episode of Riverdale they’d been watching, but they can worry about that later.

 

The Uber driver looks peeved.  His hands are gripping the wheel too tightly, and a scowl crosses his face when he sees the way Dan fits his hand into the small of Phil’s back when he slides in beside him.  Dan doesn’t seem to notice, huffing out the name of the restaurant for the driver before dropping his head onto Phil’s shoulder and letting out a long breath that spills warmly over Phil’s neck.  Phil notices though, and he’ll be sure to pass on a scathing review of the driver as soon as he gets his breath back.  Or when they get back to the hotel later.  Thankfully it won’t be a long ride.

 

For now, he reaches for Dan’s other hand and tugs it to his lips to press a kiss to the back of it, staring directly into the rearview mirror as he does.  Dan hums and burrows deeper into the crook of his neck, pressing his lips to Phil’s clothed shoulder.  Phil wonders if maybe he isn’t so blind to the driver’s harsh glare.  

 

He turns his head, letting his chin bury itself in Dan’s thick curls.  “Are you ready to meet Baby Pearl?” he murmurs.

 

Dan pulls away then to look him in the eyes, and Phil’s breath catches in his throat.  He’s only just starting to get his breath back, but leave it to Dan to steal it right out from under him again.  Dan’s smiling widely, dimples carved into his cheeks, brown eyes twinkling and crinkling at the corners.  Phil’s suddenly overwhelmed with the beauty of this man who somehow loves him.  He’s always known how beautiful Dan is, but in moments like these, when there’s no one watching them, when they can share this unadulterated affection, it crashes over him again.  

 

Dan squeezes his hand, and that’s all the answer Phil needs.  He rests his head on Dan’s shoulder this time and watches the passing traffic out the window.  They’ve been wanting to meet Pearl for the longest time, but with the way their schedules conflict with Louise’s, this is the first chance they’ve had.  Phil’s glad they’ll at least get to meet her before they’re truly off on this adventure.  He just hopes she doesn’t cry when she sees him.  That seems to be a common occurrence when he meets children.

 

“Do you think she’ll cry when she sees me?”  He tilts his head up to look at Dan, eyebrows scrunching together.  It’s happened too many other times for it to just be an irrational thought.

 

Dan presses a kiss to the tip of his nose, ignoring the driver’s angry cough from the front seat.  He grins down at Phil, tongue poking out from between his teeth in the same way Phil’s does every time Dan makes fun of him for it.  He can let it go if it means Dan will look at him like this.  “Definitely,” Dan whispers.  “You’re terrifying.”

 

“Apparently.”  Phil pouts.  Dan gets that look in his eyes that says he’s exercising all restraint to keep from kissing him right now even though that’s all he wants to do, and Phil feels the way his own mouth melts into a soft smile.  They have rules, even when it comes to pissing off the Uber driver.  “Hasn’t seemed to scare you away though.”

 

“Mm, you know horror’s one of my favorite genres.”

 

Phil snorts at that but lifts his head from Dan’s shoulder and squeezes his hand one last time before letting him go.  They’re pulling up outside the restaurant, and as much as they’d both like to say _fuck it_ sometimes, the aftermath of being spotted with their hands entwined is too much to deal with when they’re just beginning this five-month-long journey around the world.

 

When the car pulls to a stop, they both slide out without so much as a “thank you” for the driver.  He doesn’t really deserve their thanks.  As he pulls open the restaurant door, Phil lets out a slow breath.  Out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  He’ll deal with Uber later, but right now they have a baby to meet.

 

Phil puts a hand on Dan’s back briefly as he passes through entrance, and he follows closely behind.  Louise is already waiting for them in a booth on the right-hand wall, and she waves when she spots them.  Dan greets the hostess and points to the waving Louise when she asks for their reservation name.

 

“We’re actually meeting our friend,” he says politely.

 

The hostess looks between the two of them as if trying to figure out how they could possibly know Louise, but she waves them on anyway.

 

Dan thanks her and they start for the table Louise has scored them.  He leans into Phil as they walk and whispers, “I was worried she was gonna be as homophobic as the Uber driver.  I was ready to throw hands.  Storm out.  Leave a horrid review on Yelp.”

 

Bumping their shoulders together, Phil grins.  “I’m choosing to believe that she just really can’t imagine how two losers like us are friends with someone like Louise.”

 

They come to a stop beside the table, and Phil slides into the booth first, leaning into Dan’s touch when he snakes an arm around his waist as he slides in beside him.

 

“You would,” Dan says into his ear.

 

Phil turns to retort, but Louise cuts him off.  “Boys.  You’re late.  I hope the sex was good at least.”

 

A bright pink flush takes up Dan’s face, and he whines “ _Louiiiiiise_ ” at the same time that Phil frowns and says, “Not in front of Baby Pearl.”

 

She snorts.  “I wish you could see your faces.”

 

Huffing, Dan retracts the arm he’s wound around Phil and crosses it with the other one across his chest.

 

Phil feels naked where Dan isn’t touching him anymore, so he fits his hand into the small of his back and scoots over just enough on the seat to press their thighs together.  He can see the baby’s car seat carrier on the bench beside Louise but she still hasn’t brought Pearl out.  She’s looking between both of their faces with an amused smile.

 

“You boys look happy,” she says.

 

Dan lets his arms fall from his chest and his bright smile overtake his face.  He looks at Phil with soft eyes as he answers Louise, and Phil finds himself in another moment when he wishes they could indulge in all the PDA they desire.  “We are,” Dan says.  “We’re excited.”

 

“Aww, my boys!”  She reaches across the table to pinch both of their cheeks, and Phil leans into it.  A cheek pinch from Louise gives him the same feeling his grandma’s cookies used to.  “You should be so proud.  It’s such a good show.  You’re so good to your subscribers.”

 

Dan waves her away with his right hand, sliding the other one over to squeeze Phil’s knee.  “We just want to make sure they see everything they’ve ever wanted to from us before Youtube crashes and burns.”

 

Phil covers Dan’s hand with his own, slipping his fingers through the gaps of Dan’s.  “They give us our livelihood,” he says softly, watching the way Dan’s head shakes up and down in agreement.  “They’re the only reason we’ll be able to buy a home when we get back from this tour.  We really just want to say thanks.”

 

Louise presses her hand to her heart.  “You’re really too sweet.”

 

Dan’s dimple makes an appearance, and Phil wants to press his lips to it.  He settles for squeezing Dan’s hand again.

 

“You should try living with him,” Dan says, flipping his hand over to grip Phil’s hand back.  “The dentist keeps coming back with near-cavity diagnoses.”

 

Louise gives him a hard stare.  “You’re about to give me several cavities.  Now.  You came here to meet Pearl.  Are you ready?”

 

“ _Yes_ ,” they say at the same time, and she grins shaking her head.

 

There are a few clicks as she plays with the straps holding Pearl into the car seat, and then she’s lifting one of the smallest humans Phil has ever seen out of the carrier and holding her up for them to see.  

 

Dan lets out a soft gasp beside him, and as much as he wants to look at Baby Pearl and coo, Phil’s never been able to keep his eyes away from Dan for more than thirty seconds when there’s a baby in the room.  He’s pretty sure that’s not how it’s supposed to work, that he should be keeping his eyes on the baby at all times to make sure that they won’t die, but Dan is...Dan is the brightest thing in any room.  And he is absolute sunshine when there’s a baby.  

 

Like right now.  Right now, Dan’s dimple has settled as deeply into his cheek as it will go.  His eyes are soft and crinkly and shiny bronze.  His lips are shaped in an o, and he’s staring at Baby Pearl as if she’s the only thing in this entire restaurant that matters.  He’s staring at her like Phil’s staring at him.

 

Briefly, Phil wonders if it’s wrong to be jealous of a baby, but then he decides that this isn’t jealousy.  Not really.  This is affection and torment and _love_ all wrapped up into a neat package.  He loves Dan and he loves Baby Pearl, even if he’s only just met her.  Anyone who can make Dan look like _this_ is a winner in Phil’s book.

 

He turns his attention to the giggly baby in Louise’s arms.  Dan’s making faces at her, and she’s eating it up.  Phil doesn’t blame her.  Louise catches his eye and raises a brow at him, silently questioning where his head is at right now.  He shakes his head minutely at her, opting instead to grin widely at Baby Pearl and reach his hand across the table.  She grabs ahold of his index finger and tugs on it, and he feels his insides warming in a way that only coffee and Dan can make them.  

 

Dan’s hand squeezes his knee again, and Phil turns to see him looking back at him with the same crinkly-eyed expression he’d been giving Pearl just a minute ago.  “She’s not crying,” he murmurs, bumping their shoulders together. 

 

Phil grins back, his tongue poking out from between his teeth.  “It’s a miracle.  Although I guess this means you’ll have to leave me now.  Since I’m not scary enough.”

 

“Mm, I’m sure I can think of another reason or two to stick around.  Y’know, since you’re not scary enough.”

 

“I can always just sneak out of bed and put on the Dil head so you have something to piss yourself to when you wake up.”

 

Dan snorts.  “There’s a fine line between scaring me and traumatizing me, and I think that might be crossing it.  How about we just stick to horror films?”

 

Louise clears her throat, and they snap their heads towards her.  “As glad as I am that Pearl gets to witness love in the way it ought to be when she’s this young, we don’t actually have that much time today.  You boys have your show tonight, and I have to be back to get Darcy to her playdate in about an hour.”

 

“Sorry, Louise,” Phil says a bit sheepishly.  “Did you already order?  I just realized we haven’t ordered anything yet.”

 

“Oh yes, I ordered afternoon tea for all of us.  It’s a bit early, but they said they’d do it for a regular customer like me.”  She flips her hair.  “They’ll bring it out soon, but do you boys want to get some pictures with Pearl before there’s hot tea for her to send spilling into your laps?”

 

“Absolutely.”  The speak in unison again and turn to grin stupidly at each other.  

 

Phil likes to tell people that it’s a by-product of having known each other for so long, but Kath has always told him that what they have is rare.  Even she and Nigel aren’t as in sync as Dan and Phil are, and they’ve been together for far longer than eight and a half years.  It’s part of the reason they’ve lasted for as long as they have.  

 

Loving Dan is both the easiest and the hardest thing he’s ever done.  They fight like any couple does, but they also understand each other in a way that doesn’t even require words half the time.  Phil knows that he’ll never find anyone that he clicks with half as much as he clicks with Dan, but even if he could, he wouldn’t want to.

 

Dan turns back to look at Baby Pearl first, dropping his jaw the way he always does when he sees something absolutely precious.  He squeezes Phil’s knee one more time before stretching both arms across the table and gesturing for Louise to pass her to him.

 

“Can she hold her own head up?” he asks softly, looking down at Pearl in awe.

 

“She can, although you might need to put a hand on her back to keep her sitting up straight.”

 

Dan nods, grabbing Pearl just beneath her arms and lifting her up to swing her over to their side of the table.  She giggles when Dan sets her down on the edge of the table between them and boops her on the nose.

 

“Are you ready for pictures, little one?”  Dan’s absolutely cooing at this point, and Phil wishes he could bottle up the sound.

 

Phil reaches out and tickles her belly, trying to ignore the way that Louise’s camera is trained on them.  They’ll definitely be on her weekly vlog this coming week, so they’ll need to tone down the flirty banter and looks between them a few notches.  He’ll just...focus on the baby.

 

He tickles Pearl’s belly again, relishing in the tinkling giggle she lets out in response while Dan passes his phone over to Louise.

 

“A couple individual ones for our insta stories and then some joint ones for a picture frame with Pearl’s name on it?”

 

Louise nods and takes the phone from his hand.  Dan boops Pearl on the nose again before lifting her up and spinning her around so she’s facing the camera.  Phil’s heart warms when she laughs again.  Dan keeps a steady hand on her back and leans in as Louise snaps the camera a few times while Phil keeps himself out of the shot.  Then Dan leans away while Phil presses his cheek against Pearl’s, all of them chuckling as her arm flies out and whacks Phil in the face.  Louise snaps a few more shots before gesturing for them to squeeze into the same shot.

 

Dan leans back in and presses his cheek against the other side of Pearl’s face.  If Phil were a jealous man, he would imagine that Pearl isn’t actually sitting between them and it’s his face Dan’s currently close enough to press a kiss into the cheek of.  But Phil isn’t a jealous man.  Not at all.  He’s just currently really miffed about the PDA rules they have.

 

“Phil, smile,” Louise says sternly.  He blinks a few times and then grins toothily for the camera.  She snaps a string of photos before sliding Dan’s phone back across the table and making grabby hands for Pearl.  Pearl reaches back out towards her, and Dan lifts her up again and slips her back into Louise’s arms.

 

Dan snakes his arm back around Phil waist, and Phil drops his head onto Dan’s shoulder.  He wishes he could lean up a little bit and press a kiss into Dan’s dimple, but even a booth in a high-end restaurant can only give them so much privacy.  This, what they have right now—their thighs pressed flush together and Dan’s arm wrapped around his waist—this is as much as they’re allowed right now.  But this is Dan.  He’ll take it.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading :)
> 
> come and visit me at laddyplester on tumblr
> 
> [tumblr link](https://laddyplester.tumblr.com/post/173506041304/of-glitter-and-pearls)


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